Barcelona, Spain

January 25-31, 2016-

I had the opportunity to check out another great city- Barcelona, Spain! I spent an entire week there and had my first Couch surfing experience. It was very positive and now I have a new friend, Elena. I spent the first four days with her and then when my cousin, Brent, was done working we met up. We stayed in a great location walking distance to everything downtown for the rest of the weekend together. It was so nice to see him and spend some quality cousin time :) The city was incredible full of amazing work by Antoni Gaudi everywhere we looked. He lived from 25 Jun 1852 to 10 Jun 1926 and was a great influence on the city, best known for Catalan Modernism. Gaudi's work reflects an individualized and distinctive style. I love his work! One of his largest and most striking works is Casa Batllo, constructed from 1904-1906. I also visited Casa Vicens, the first house that Gaudi designed, which is located walking distance from Batllo, north in the Gracia neighborhood on Calle de las Carolinas, 24. It helps explain the character of his work and modern architecture. The plans for the site date back to 15 Jan 1883 and was completed in 1888. The house is constructed of stone, rough red bricks, and vibrant colored ceramic tiles in both checkered and floral pattern. I stopped in the tourist office and picked up a free map, picking a district each day to explore since I had all week! Although, the time does fly by when traveling... 

  

                             
             

His works can also be seen at Park Guell as you enter the park there is a massive detailed structure that looks just like a gingerbread house. I spent a beautiful half day in the park, alone walking around. There were musicians playing, singing, and dancing. Small groups of people having a picnic with stunning panoramic views of the city. Great walk with lots to see, one could spend all day in the park.

          

My personal favorite is also north of the city, called Torre Bellesguard. Amazing 9 Euro English audio tour of the gorgeous garden and surrounding property grounds of the house at your leisure. Then a personal English speaking guide to take you on a tour within the house, where people are currently living, and up to the top of the tower with incredible panoramic views of Barcelona. It had not rained in 80 plus days since arriving in Barcelona, so each day despite the gorgeous weather and sunshine there was a layer of pollution in all my pictures and view points. After Torre Bellesguard I walked towards the metro through the most beautiful district of Barcelona, with restored houses that people currently live in with the Spanish architecture and elaborate details and colors. the Gran Teatre del Lliceu is along La Rambla. I did not go inside but just walking by the building is stunning. La Rambla is a large outdoor market lined with vendors, restaurants, and great people watching. Watch your purses though, lots of pick pockets, although when I walked down the street I felt safe and there was plenty of police officers. I met up with Elena and walked along the Mediterranean Sea then watched the most incredible sunset while sitting on the pier.

Another famous work by Gaudi- The Sagrada Familia. A must see, I suggest buying tickets online and going early because the line can get long with lots of tourist. At night the Sagrada Familia is amazing, definitely worth coming back to check it out. Stunning colors that appear only by nightfall. Close to the Sagrada is a stunning hospital, Hospital de la Sta, Creu Sant Pau, I would love to go to work everyday there! UNSECO World Heritage and functioning hospital for the past 80 plus years. 

 

Being from Nebraska, I loved the stunning views of the Mediterranean Sea and putting my toes in the water and sand. Although it was winter in Barcelona it was sunny and 60, we walked along the sea while people were exercising or bathing in the sunshine. There are normally lines of shops and restaurants that are popular all summer, few were open at this time. 

Spanish tapas, Catalunya wine, Tibdabo, and the list continues. I loved Barcelona, the city was amazing. Near the F.C. Barcelona stadium I spent the day touring Guell's first work- Pavellons de la Finca Guell. Nice, quiet park with few visitors. The entrance gate was amazing! A detailed 3 dimensional dragon.  Palau Reial de Pedralbes, the Royal Palace that was the residence of the Spanish Royal family from 1919 until 1931. Although, I did not have time to include the Ceramic Museum and Interior Design Museum are both within the Palace. Just north of the palace, is the Reial Monstir de Santa Maria de Pedralbes, Catalan Gothic architecture complex comprises of church, monastery, elaborate landscaped gardens, and museum. This museum contains numerous works of art, religious relics, and allows us to see the artistic legacy preserved by the community of nuns from the Order of Saint Clare throughout the centuries and to find out how they lived. Next stop, Porta Finca Miralles were all walking distance to each other and a great day spent exploring.

To top of a great week, we were so fortunate to watch F.C. Barcelona win at home vs. Madrid on Saturday! Elena's mother has season tickets and so she took me to the game and Brent was able to get a ticket too, although we did not sit together. The weather was fantastic for the "winter" The sunshine was out and most days while walking around I was able to wear jeans and a short sleeve shirt, I could get use to these days.. I will be back with Jeremy now that I know the in's and out's of the city, plus we have a place to stay and friend to visit!

   

Excellent suggestions for restaurants while being a tourist! Sagardi Cuners Bascos- Small plates, tapas style. Address- Argenteria, 62 08003 Barcelona. Casa Jordi Restaurant, since 1968, Authentic Catalan dishes. Address- Pge Marimon, 18 08021 Barcelona.

Cluj-Napoca, Romania over the 4 day MLK weekend

January 15-18, 2016-

Commonly known as Cluj, it is the second most populated city in Romania. It is considered the unofficial capital to the historic province of Transylvania with old city walls fortified in 1241. We arrived to this unique city for a long weekend and despite the cold temperatures in January the sunshine made all the difference! We did fly this time, finding really cheap tickets on skyscanner.com with an easy taxi ride right into the city center from the airport. One thing to note, is the currency is Lei, not Euro. After arriving in the city, all food, tourist shops, restaurants, and bars are very affordable. Once in the city center, all major sights are walking distance. It is a small city and you can see all the tourist sights in a couple days. We did feel like 4 days was a little long but we did still have a great time together. There are multiple day trips from Cluj to explore more of the Transylvania towns that are easy to do as well.

We did our own walking tour since we read up on the free walking tour that was suppose to run daily, rain or shine, starting at 10 am. We arrived at the start location, no tour guide or group was anywhere in sight. We waited and admired St. Michael's Church in Unirii square. The church was built in the 14th century and named after the Archangel Michael, who is the patron saint of Cluj-Napoca. This Gothic style church is massive in size and beautiful from each angle. You can see this landmark from the panoramic view as well, looming above all other buildings in the square even the entire city. In front of the church is the equestrian statue of Matthias Corvinus, which was built in honor of the King of Hungary.

                             

Next along our waking tour- The Romanian National Opera theater, Neo-Baroque style. Founded in 1955 and on the UNESCO's list of protected monuments. Although they have hosted many different venues within the theater, most well known for its classical music concerts. Across the street stands the equivalent to Saint Michael's is the Orthodox Cathedral built in 1933 with a statue of Avram Iancu in front of it. 

Tailors' Bastion, Tailors' Tower, is located at the southeast corner of the old Citadel. It was built in 1550 and the only structure still standing from the Medieval fortified city. Today, tourist are able to climb to the top of the tower with museum exhibitions on the platforms as you climb the stairs. It was named after the Tailors' Guild, who took care of and guarded this part of the city from the tower where he lived. 

From the Tailors' Tower you can see this Church right around the corner standing out among the rest. The Calvinist Reformed Church, Gothic architectural style built starting from 1486 and completed by 1516, impressive in size being one of the largest in southeastern Europe. The statue of St. George slaying the dragon is prominent in front of the church, this was inspired by a statue that is currently in the center of Prague.

Walking along Matthias Corvinus Alley, you can find the building that is the birthplace of the King of Hungary. Almost 50,000 Hungarians live in Cluj-Napoca, which is the second largest community and their culture is present within the city landmarks. 

The sunshine was out so we decided to head up to Alexandru Borza Botanical Garden, one of the largest in southeastern Europe with 10,000 plant species. Stopping after for lunch in a cute restaurant called, The Family Restaurant, with an excellent set lunch menu option and friendly staff. After being re-energized we worked our way across town to Central Park, for a stroll down the beautiful tree lined path of this 180 year old park. The lake within the park was frozen and a home made ice skating rink was created on the ice. Lots of people were outside enjoying the sunshine in the park.

Finishing the day off with an uphill hike to the lookout point, Fortress Hill. Famous for the best views of the city and the surrounding landscape, we climbed up 200 feet to the top of Fortress Hill. The name refers to an Austrian fortress built here in the 18th century to ensure control, rather than defense, of the city. The fortress also served as a prison, where Stephan Ludwig Roth, the 1848 hero of the Transylvanian Saxons, was held, accused of high treason, and executed at the Northern gate on May 11, 1849.

Day 2 started with Banffy Palace, the former residence of Austro-Hungarian governors. The palace was designed by a German architect, for the governor of the city at that time, Banffy Gyorgy. Built between 1774 and 1775, baroque style. In 1951, the Cluj National Art Museum opened. As we toured the palace and the art museum there were famous paintings by Nicolae Grigorescu.

Next along the way- The oldest residence in Cluj-Napoca is the house of Matthias Corvinus, originally a Gothic structure that bears the Transylvanian Renaissance characteristic due to later renovations. 

Cluj has a diverse and growing cultural scene, with cultured life exhibited in a number of fields, including the visual fine arts, performing arts, and nightlife. The most famous up and coming is Casa Tranzit, Tranzit House, a non-profit organization took over this historic Synagogue instead of tearing it down the foundation managed to fill the empty space with performances and conferences. Since 1997, it hosts many cultural and art events. The city's cultural scene spans in its history, dating back to the Roman times. The city started to be built during that period, which has left its mark on the urban layout by maintaining/ restoring the Roman ruins. The nightlife scene was in full force with the University within Cluj. The unique underground bars, jazz live music, and exotic drinks made it fun to stay out later than I normally do while traveling! As Jeremy knows best :)